Black Journalists Remember Robinson as Role Model

The death of former ABC-TV anchor Max Robinson this week came as no surprise to his friends and colleagues in television. Many of them had seen him looking frail and feeble last summer at the National Assn. of Black Journalists convention in St. Louis, an organization he had helped found. Others simply heard rumors he was severely ill.

Robinson, the first black male anchor a decade ago, died from complications of AIDS on Tuesday. He was 49.

Still, the news came as a shock. To black journalists, Robinson had been the “pioneer,” the “beacon,” the “role model,” the one who “broke through.”

“That was the hardest story for me to read--on the 5 (p.m. news) and on the 11,” said KCBS-TV’s Hosea Sanders. “We used a sound bite of him speaking at the black journalists’ convention, saying that ‘as long as you have your integrity’ that’s the most important thing. That’s what keeps me going right now, and it helped me keep my composure. You keep your professionalism.’ ”

Sanders, who readily points out that there is no full-time black male anchor on evening newscasts in Los Angeles, was substituting for Jim Lampley, who is on vacation. “You have your sports and your weather (black reporters), but that’s it.”

To Sanders, 30, nearly a generation younger, Robinson was “my inspiration for getting into the business. In Arkansas, for me to see Max actually doing what I dreamed of doing gave me all the inspiration I needed to go out and do it. He was on the air in spite of the fact that he was a black man. He was good. “

Sanders was at Henderson State College in Arkansas when Robinson, broadcasting out of Chicago, became co-anchor of the ABC’s “World News Tonight” in a troika with Frank Reynolds in Washington and Peter Jennings in London.

Five years later, Robinson left the network after being demoted. Often during those years he spoke out against what he called racism in the television industry. He was considered a militant. Until 1985 he worked as co-anchor at WMAQ, the NBC affiliate in Chicago. He had no full-time job after that.

“He was definitely a pioneer,” said sportscaster Jim Hill at KABC-TV Channel 7. “If it had not been for individuals like Max, a lot of black journalists would not have the jobs they have today. Some people called him militant, but he showed a lot of young black journalists that the job can be done in a professional manner.”

Hill, a former football defensive back who studied communications while at Texas A & I in the late 1960s, said that just as he looked up to people like Muhammed Ali, he later looked up to Robinson.

“I became aware of him when I first started playing football for San Diego. All of a sudden here is a black gentleman who has a prestigious position as a newscaster. It just kind of put goosebumps on us--particularly me.”

To Hill the situation for black broadcasters is improving all the time. “It’s more and more equal,” and more are “getting an opportunity.” He said he dislikes quotas.

“There aren’t that many spots available,” Hill contends. “Jerry Dunphy has had his spot for a long time. . . . Tony Cox was doing some anchoring. . . .”

Cox, who was co-anchor at Fox’s KTTV Channel 11 from 1985-87 and now occasionally fills in as an anchor on KHJ-TV Channel 9, said Robinson was “like a beacon. He was a standard for us to compare ourselves with. Here was a guy who looked good, who was intelligent, who was articulate, and also, and this is the most important contribution for me, he was still aware of who he was, as a black person and as a professional. He never lost sight of that. That cost him some, but he decided to pay the price for that.”

At the convention in St. Louis, Robinson was given a lifetime achievement award by his fellow black journalists. “I was the master-of-ceremonies,” Cox recalled. “It was electrifying when he walked into the room--2,000 professionals applauded and cheered. They just continued like that for 10 minutes or better. I’m glad we had the chance to see him, and more important than that, that he had the chance to be received in that fashion.”

As for home base, Cox notes that “Los Angeles still does not have a (full-time) black anchor except for Valerie Coleman (on Channel 2) in the daytime and Larry McCormick (on KTLA Channel 5)” sporadically on the 10 p.m. newscast. “There is still not a black nighttime anchor, and that speaks for itself.”

Asked whether the situation for black journalists compares to a decade ago when Robinson became ABC co-anchor, Cox noted that a recent conference of black journalists in New York determined that “very little progress has been made, in print or in broadcasting.”

Bernard Shaw, co-anchor at Cable News Network and today the only network black anchor, said it’s hard to evaluate what kind of role racism plays in television.

“Journalism does not lend itself to squares and circles and pigeonholes,” Shaw said. “This is a very subjective business. Decisions are very subjective, and an assignment editor can cite five valid reasons why he doesn’t give a reporter a particular assignment. That reporter might think it’s racism, and it might well be racism, but I challenge anybody to prove it in a court of law. This business is tough on everyone.”

Yet when asked if he felt in his gut that there was racism, Shaw who had been a close friend of Robinson’s for 20 years, answered “absolutely, without question. It’s hard for me to calculate. Ask the person who feels victimized.”

Robinson himself felt victimized, Shaw said.

“When I was 13 years old,” Shaw added, “Edward R. Murrow was my idol, and I used to watch everything that man did. I was a little boy growing up on the south side of Chicago, and while I studied and got good grades, had a wonderful family and parents, Murrow’s impact on me was just staggering. And I think about Max’s impact on people. His impact will go on for generations. He was Engine No. 1.”

Cheryl Washington, an entertainment correspondent for CNN in New York, said she wasn’t surprised when she heard Robinosn had died. “I had seen him this summer and he was in a very frail and somewhat gaunt state. . . . I was devastated (at his death). This is someone who is a real legend. . . . There was never anyone prior to Max who made such an impact on black America. It left us with the impression that there was room for others.”

At KNBC-TV Channel 4, Christopher Nance noted that when he first started out in broadcasting--at the time he was in Monterey--relatives back East would encourage him to “ ‘sound like Max.’ I admired the man’s on-air presence. The way he spoke and handled himself, it was something I tried to emulate. I feel a great loss. There aren’t a lot of black representatives in front of the camera--in this market or any other.”

At KCBS-TV Channel 2, Steve Rambo remembered that when he was in Austin, Tex., he used to watch Robinson. “It let me know that my goals were attainable. . . . It was just nice to see his face on TV, and hear his voice.”